During a routine cleanup after Hurricane Debby, a Tampa, Fla., woman, Suzanne Flament-Smith, stumbled upon an unexpected piece of history. While collecting debris left in the storm’s wake, she discovered a corked glass bottle that contained more than just sand.
Inside, it contained a World War II-era letter dated March 4, 1945. It appeared to have been written by a sailor stationed at the U.S. Navy Amphibious Training Base in Norfolk, Virginia. The correspondence began simply, “Dear Lee, received your letter yesterday. Was glad to hear from you,” hinting at a friendly exchange between two people during the war’s final months.
A letter dated from 1945 was found in a bottle by Suzanne Flament Smith. Photo courtesy of Smith
Flament-Smith, who initially found the bottle while filling her third trash bag, noticed the bottle’s contents through the glass. “You could see in the bottle, the letter, you could see the letter and the script, and I was like oh my gosh, it’s a message in a bottle!” Flament-Smith said. “It’s like history come to life.”
Curious, she brought the bottle home, where she and her family uncorked it, only to find more than just the letter inside. Along with the message, the bottle contained a mini cannonball, a bullet casing, and a coffee stick.
The letter was partially legible, with some sections still intact despite its long journey. “I’m going to school again, radio school. It seems to be a lot of fun,” read one part. Other fragments hinted at the sailor’s life at the time, though some details remain a mystery due to wear and tear.
The letter found by Suzanne Flament Smith. Photo courtesy of Smith
Initially, Flament-Smith thought the letter was signed by “Chris,” but a closer examination suggested the name might be “Jim.” To solve this mystery, she shared the letter on Facebook, hoping someone might recognize the names or have information about the sender or recipient. Her post received around 200 reshares, as more people became interested in the identity of the letter’s author.
I could have just kept walking… I was glad I did the good deed because a really cool story came from it,” she said.
This discovery was particularly meaningful for Flament-Smith, who recently lost her father and whose husband’s parents had also passed away. “If somebody ever came across something of any loved one’s passing, I just think it would be so wonderful to try to get it back to them,” she said of her need to try and find the family of the letter’s writer.
The Navy has since expressed interest in investigating the letter’s origins and authenticity. April Phillips, a Navy spokesperson, said, “We’re going to [do] some sleuthing and see what we can track down.”
For her part, Flament-Smith emphasized the importance of doing good deeds, noting that her choice to pick up litter led to an extraordinary find. “There’s always little treasures in life that you might come across and I think this is a perfect example of that,” she said.
